The Maria Mitchell Association is a private

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

on the island of Nantucket off the coast of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The association owns the

Maria Mitchell Observatory The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1908 and named in honor of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman astronomer. It is a major component of the Maria Mitchell Association. The Observatory actually c ...

, a second observatory (the Loines Observatory), a Natural History Museum, the Maria Mitchell Aquarium at Nantucket Harbor, a history museum that is the birthplace of

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell (Help:IPA/English, /məˈraɪə/; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later kno ...

, and a Science Library. Staff members of the Maria Mitchell Association conduct research into topics as varied as astrophysics and the

American burying beetle ''Nicrophorus americanus'', also known as the American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle, is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Silphidae. The carrion be ...

,"Saving the Beetles", ''Yesterday's Island'', June 18–24, 2009, found a
Yesterday's Island website
. Accessed September 2, 2009."American Burying Beetle Project," found a

. Accessed September 2, 2009.Invertebrates In Education and Conservation Conference, July 24, 2009, found a

. September 2, 2009."Acknowledgments: Many contributed long hours, tireless research, and continuous dedication. Our team includes ... Andrew Mckenna Foster biologist with the Maria Mitchell Association for his work and dedication to the recovery effort....", "American Burying Beetle: First Terrestrial Invertebrate on the Species Survival Plan," found a
Roger Williams park Zoo website
. Accessed September 2, 2009.Andrew Mckenna-Foster, William T. Maple, and Robert S. Kennedy, "

American Burying Beetle ''Nicrophorus americanus'', also known as the American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle, is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Silphidae. The carrion be ...

(''Nicrophorus americanus'') survey and reintroduction on Nantucket 2005." found a
St. Louis Zoo
website. Accessed September 2, 2009. amongst other scientific topics. The properties offer a variety of science and history-related programming and are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, along with the rest of the island.

Components and buildings

The Maria Mitchell Association's buildings are located in various areas on the island including four that are adjacent to each other on the hill in Natucket town.Mitchell Association official website Facilities page
. Accessed September 3, 2009. These include the Historic Mitchell House located at 1 Vestal Street. It preserves the

birthplace The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

of Maria Mitchell, and contains many

heirloom In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a Family Bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in En ...

s of Maria Mitchell and her family. The Science Library located at 2 Vestal Street houses archives and special collections. The Natural Science Museum, at the corner of Milk and Vestal Streets, has several rooms of permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as a shop with books and gifts. The main Vestal Street Observatory, at 3 Vestal Street, includes the offices of the two working astronomers and has a few exhibits such as Maria Mitchell's famed

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

. The Loines Observatory at 59 Milk Street is used primarily for research and on clear nights offers viewings to the public. An aquarium and shop is located at 28 Washington Street, down the hill at Nantucket Harbor. Admission is charged for the public to visit each site, for programs, and for membership. A discounted special ticket is available during the summer for sale to the public to see the House, Museum, Vestal Observatory, and Aquarium for one price. Tours are offered every day during the summer at 11:00 a.m.

The Historic Mitchell House

The Historic Mitchell House preserves the

of Maria Mitchell.Discover Nantucket website Mitchell House page
. Accessed September 3, 2009.
. Accessed September 3, 2009. It was built in 1790, and occupied by the Mitchell family from 1818, the year of Maria Mitchell's birth. The House contains many artifacts of Maria Mitchell and her family, including a tall-case clock, one of her telescopes, and other artifacts. The research library includes Mitchell's papers, as well as other historical and scientific material. The house remains very much in its original condition with original decorative paint. Guided tours are provided to the public in-season and children's and adult history classes and historic preservation workshops are offered. The research library includes Mitchell's personal and work related papers, her personal library, the papers and libraries of her family, and the special collection library which includes rare books concerning astronomy, the natural sciences, and Nantucket, some dating back to the 1600s. The archives and special collections are open by appointment only for research purposes.

Natural Science Museum

The Natural Science Museum is across the street from Mitchell House. It showcases displays of animals such as snakes, frogs, and turtles. Furthermore, the museum features a gift shop and various displays related to natural science. The building containing the museum has three floors, of which only the first floor is accessible to the public.

MMA (Nantucket) Aquarium

''See main article: Maria Mitchell Aquarium'' The MMA Aquarium, also known as the Nantucket Aquarium, is on the site of the historic ticket office of the former Nantucket Railroad at 28 Washington Street.Mitchell Association official website Marine sciences page
. Accessed September 3, 2009.Discover Nantucket website MMA Aquarium page
. Accessed September 3, 2009. It is located at directly on the shoreline of the Nantucket Harbor, which empties out into the

Nantucket Sound Nantucket Sound_(geography), Sound is a roughly triangular area of the Atlantic Ocean offshore from the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is long and wide, and is enclosed by Cape Cod on the north, Nantucket on the south, and Martha's Vineyard on ...

. Specimens are primarily drawn from the waters around Nantucket, and are released back to those waters at the end of each summer. Because the Gulf Stream passes by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

side of the island, some

tropical fish Tropical fish are generally those fish found in aquatic tropical environments around the world. Fishkeepers often keep tropical fish in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The term "tropical fish" is not a taxonomic group, but rather is a ge ...

are frequently on exhibit. The Aquarium offers programs, including a "

feeding frenzy In ecology, a feeding frenzy occurs when predators are overwhelmed by the amount of prey available. The term is also used as an idiom in the English language. Examples in nature For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks, such a ...

Loines and Vestal Streets Observatories

Loines Observatory was built in 1968 and 1998, the two domes of this facility house a refurbished antique 8-inch Clark telescope and a new 24-inch research telescope. It serves as both an active research observatory and venue for public astronomical programs. The Vestal Street Observatory has been the site of research, lectures, and other programs. since 1908. Maria Mitchell Association's observatories are open for regular public tours, programs, lectures, and also host to several special events throughout the year.

History

The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native, astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator,

. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell's international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first American Professor of

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

. Mitchell died in 1889.Maria Mitchell Association website About page
. Accessed September 3, 2009.

Programs

Each summer, the MMA offers the Summer Discovery Classes Program for children of various ages, and during the school year to the

Nantucket Public Schools Nantucket Public Schools (NPS) is a school district on the island Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Fundamentals The Nantucket Public Schools district was founded to educate and serve the small island, and four public schools are currentl ...

.Maria Mitchell Association website Educational programs for children page
. Accessed September 3, 2009. The MMA also offers

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

programs for families as well as astronomy and natural science programs for adults. The MMA also offers

lesson plan A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the tea ...

s, and programs to teachers in local school systems.

Major staff and research

The staff members of the association continue to conduct research into a wide variety of topics from galaxy formation and star clusters, to spiders,

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

, and the American burying beetle.Maria Mitchell Association Research collections
. Accessed March 8, 2012. They have mentored many aspiring scientists. The staff of the Maria Mitchell Association currently includes: * Joanna Roche: Executive Director * David Gagnon: Executive Director * Dr. Regina Jorgenson: Director of Astronomy * George Donnelly: Director of Development and Communications * Andrew McKenna-Foster: Director of the Maria Mitchell Natural Science Museum * Jascin Leonardo Finger: Curator of the Mitchell House, Archives and Special Collections * Joan Stockman: Financial Administrator * Kim Botelho: Director of Education * Gary Walker: consultant * Sarah Erichsen: Development Coordinator

References

External links

* {{authority control Historic preservation organizations in the United States History museums in Massachusetts Natural history museums in Massachusetts Astronomy organizations Museums in Nantucket, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Nantucket, Massachusetts Aquaria in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Nature centers in Massachusetts